Several Wounded after Gunmen Attack Saudi Military Base in Ta’if


Several Wounded after Gunmen Attack Saudi Military Base in Ta’if

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Several Saudi military officers were wounded in an attack on a military base in the western city of Ta’if after gunmen killed a policeman and seized his weapons before attacking the facility.

Two attackers exchanged gunfire with security forces at a National Guard facility in Ta’if, some 70km east of Mecca, after killing a police officer and stealing his weapons and car before entering the site, the Saudi newspaper Sabq reported on Thursday.

"He (Deputy Sergeant Abdullah Mashary Al Quraishi) was doing his job and managing road traffic on the Army road in the Ta’if district when he was stabbed by one of the assailants and was severely injured," a source cited by Sabq said.

"He died as a result of his wounds."

Al Jazeera cited Sabq as reporting that several soldiers were wounded and one of the attackers sustained injuries and was arrested. The other escaped.

Videos uploaded on social media showed scenes of panic at the scene while the sound of rapid gunfire could also be heard in the background.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but terrorist groups such as Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) and al-Qaeda have called on their followers in the kingdom to attack military targets in the past.

Reports of the shooting came after Saudi media on Wednesday released a couple of videos purportedly showing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to quell the rumors about his odd absence from the public for over a month.

The young crown prince has been barely seen in public after reports of heavy gunfire in Riyadh’s al-Khozama neighborhood in April, where a palace belonging to King Salman, the Saudi monarch, is located.

The Saudi government claims that the heavy gunfire had been only an operation to shoot down a recreational drone.

Some sources affiliated with Saudi opposition groups say the April shooting has seriously frightened bin Salman, forcing him to ban the royal family members and top officials from leaving the country for fear that his cousin and former crown prince, Muhammad bin Nayef, would try to topple him.

Most Visited in World
Top World stories
Top Stories